and allowed herself to be led back up the stairs to the room, where Nurse Lassiter tucked her into bed.
To sleep in the middle of the day was a luxury she had not enjoyed since she was very small. When she’d told the doctors that she wished she could return to childhood, she’d had no idea that they’d take her wistful desire to heart, or make it so real and complete. The pastor and his wife had never indulged her like this, nor given her such comfortable surroundings. Outside, sleet was pattering against the glass of the window, and Nurse Lassiter drew the curtain and stoked the fire in the grate. Even this seemed an extravagance. Mrs. Priven had believed that a warm room was unhealthy, and that sleeping in a cold room built character.
What would the pastor and his wife say to know she slept in a fine bed in a warm room in the middle of the day? She’d last seen them the day Judge Bonham’s secretary had come to fetch her away. She wondered if they knew that the judge had cast her away and put her in the asylum. She wondered if the couple who raised her would believe his allegations. Pastor Priven had preached on the weakness of women, their moral failings, the sin of Eve. His wife had never told Lucy anything about what happened between a man and a woman. “Just do as your husband tells you,” she’d said. “He’ll know what to do.” But Lucy had known the judge’s forceful manner on their wedding night had not been natural, and her instincts to preserve herself from hurt had kicked in. He’d been so different from…
There was a hitch in her breath as she thought of her two guardians—so handsome, so patient and firm. She clutched her blanket, worrying with her fingers as she mulled over all that had happened. She still felt warm and languid just thinking of their touch—those hands, so masterful, so skilled.
But something bothered her to the point that she felt a painful lump rise in her throat, and tears welling in her eyes. She knew they were doctors who had taken her in to study. She knew they were only keeping her to be kind. Dr. Crane suggested that at some point, another man would fix his sites on her, and would take her to wife. But as she lay there, Lucy knew in her heart the only hands she ever wanted to feel on her body again were those of the men who had saved her.
Could a woman fall in love so quickly? And could she fall in love with two men? Pastor Priven had spoken of a man leaving his mother and cleaving to his wife for all their days. One man, one woman.
“You’re being silly,” she said, turning onto her side. But as she moved she was again aware of that aching, swollen place between her legs, its wet wanting still evident even now. The idea of any other man touching her there filled her with dread. In her mind the men who’d made her their little girl owned all of her, including that soft throbbing place yearning to be filled.
Chapter Six: The Judge and His Man
Judge Bonham stood before the looking glass, peering at his reflection as he adjusted his wig. Years of indulgent living had added pads of flesh to his face, but in his mind, he was still a handsome man. He had all his own teeth, and his eyes were clear and bright beneath bushy graying eyebrows. He blamed the gray on his wife, who had passed away, leaving him tense and alone and without succor for the passions he believed rivaled those of a younger man.
For the first two years of widowhood, his rise to the judiciary had afforded him little time to think on the pleasures of the flesh. But since taking up the gavel, he once again felt the need for a woman. Judge Bonham decided his prominence was a gift from God, and that the God who elevated him to greatness would surely understand if he indulged his strong desires with a woman hired for the purpose.
But he’d been wrong to presume that God would forgive sin, and he’d been punished in the sternest way possible.
Even now he could still remember that fateful
To sleep in the middle of the day was a luxury she had not enjoyed since she was very small. When she’d told the doctors that she wished she could return to childhood, she’d had no idea that they’d take her wistful desire to heart, or make it so real and complete. The pastor and his wife had never indulged her like this, nor given her such comfortable surroundings. Outside, sleet was pattering against the glass of the window, and Nurse Lassiter drew the curtain and stoked the fire in the grate. Even this seemed an extravagance. Mrs. Priven had believed that a warm room was unhealthy, and that sleeping in a cold room built character.
What would the pastor and his wife say to know she slept in a fine bed in a warm room in the middle of the day? She’d last seen them the day Judge Bonham’s secretary had come to fetch her away. She wondered if they knew that the judge had cast her away and put her in the asylum. She wondered if the couple who raised her would believe his allegations. Pastor Priven had preached on the weakness of women, their moral failings, the sin of Eve. His wife had never told Lucy anything about what happened between a man and a woman. “Just do as your husband tells you,” she’d said. “He’ll know what to do.” But Lucy had known the judge’s forceful manner on their wedding night had not been natural, and her instincts to preserve herself from hurt had kicked in. He’d been so different from…
There was a hitch in her breath as she thought of her two guardians—so handsome, so patient and firm. She clutched her blanket, worrying with her fingers as she mulled over all that had happened. She still felt warm and languid just thinking of their touch—those hands, so masterful, so skilled.
But something bothered her to the point that she felt a painful lump rise in her throat, and tears welling in her eyes. She knew they were doctors who had taken her in to study. She knew they were only keeping her to be kind. Dr. Crane suggested that at some point, another man would fix his sites on her, and would take her to wife. But as she lay there, Lucy knew in her heart the only hands she ever wanted to feel on her body again were those of the men who had saved her.
Could a woman fall in love so quickly? And could she fall in love with two men? Pastor Priven had spoken of a man leaving his mother and cleaving to his wife for all their days. One man, one woman.
“You’re being silly,” she said, turning onto her side. But as she moved she was again aware of that aching, swollen place between her legs, its wet wanting still evident even now. The idea of any other man touching her there filled her with dread. In her mind the men who’d made her their little girl owned all of her, including that soft throbbing place yearning to be filled.
Chapter Six: The Judge and His Man
Judge Bonham stood before the looking glass, peering at his reflection as he adjusted his wig. Years of indulgent living had added pads of flesh to his face, but in his mind, he was still a handsome man. He had all his own teeth, and his eyes were clear and bright beneath bushy graying eyebrows. He blamed the gray on his wife, who had passed away, leaving him tense and alone and without succor for the passions he believed rivaled those of a younger man.
For the first two years of widowhood, his rise to the judiciary had afforded him little time to think on the pleasures of the flesh. But since taking up the gavel, he once again felt the need for a woman. Judge Bonham decided his prominence was a gift from God, and that the God who elevated him to greatness would surely understand if he indulged his strong desires with a woman hired for the purpose.
But he’d been wrong to presume that God would forgive sin, and he’d been punished in the sternest way possible.
Even now he could still remember that fateful
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